


Astriloquus

by heyvivalapluto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Canon Divergence, Coran is the new Blue Paladin, Deaf Lance (Voltron), Disability, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Lance (Voltron)-centric, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Sign Language, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28336842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyvivalapluto/pseuds/heyvivalapluto
Summary: astriloquus:from latin, talking of the stars.Being bilingual is one of the things Lance is proudest of about himself. He speaks each of his words with pride, knowing he can reach many people with his voice.Now, he signs each word with care. His partial deafness, result from all the explosions and gunshots, teaches him that some words are better unsaid, or unheard.Keith agrees with that.(in which Lance goes deaf and Keith is there to help).
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 49





	Astriloquus

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! Hope you're good.  
> A few months ago, I posted on Tumblr (heyvivalapluto) this head canon I had about 'what if Lance lost part of his hearing with time?' and then I realized I had to write a fic about it. So, here it is. I've been working on this idea for quite a while and I was dying to post the first chapter, but I wanted to have more things ready. I can't guarantee about the frequency of posting, but I'll try my best. Please don't give up on me! 
> 
> I'm not deaf, nor know people who are, but I've been studying sign language for a while. I know it's not enough, so if anyone wants to help me with that, I'd appreciate it! Also, if you find something offensive, please let me know and I'll do my best to correct it. 
> 
> Here are some considerations about the fic:  
> \- Lance’s hearing hasn’t been the same since the castle invasion - the explosion that he tried to save Coran from;  
> \- Allura didn't take the position as blue paladin, but Coran did. I realized Allura was/is too important at the castle to leave with the paladins;  
> \- Shiro is still missing;  
> \- They already defeated Zarkon for good. So, no complications with Honerva or whatever. Now, they're mostly answering distress signals and doing diplomatic missions (besides the whole trying to rebuild nations destroyed by the Empire);  
> \- Keith is black paladin, but has been going through his trials at the Blade of Marmora;  
> \- The team is on edge because of that, like in canon (but not quite, because I don't want my boy hurting that much).

Lance absolutely _hates_ the cold.

Yeah, Lance might have piloted the Blue lion, guardian of water that also happens to be the lion of ice. And yeah, Lance is as cool as ice. But he _knows_ he hates the cold.

He grew up in Varadero, Cuba. He was surrounded by the tropical climate, with the warmth of the sun embracing him - and giving him a little more freckles than he’s used to -, with the sharp salty smell of the air surrounding him, and with the clear skies that never let him down. Lance was _not_ built for the cold.

So, imagine what he’s feeling in this foreign planet, crystalline and crystallized, that looks like a giant diamond, where it seems like there’s no sun to bless his skin with warmth. Lance has to admit it’s one of the most beautiful things he has ever seem. The fauna and the flora seem to be from a fairytale, with vivid colors contrasting with the lilac sky and the glacial climate of the planet. There’s no snow, but there’s a subtle and faint glimmer of light in everything that almost fools his eyes, making him believe it’s ice. _I can’t wait to go back to Red_.

Of course his mood is basically ruined from the stupid ice-planet-that-doesn’t-even-have-ice, but not only that. He shivers for the millionth time since they arrived. “I’m one step from turning into a snow cone.” Lance jokes, not saying this to anyone in particular. The red paladin hugs himself, trying to stay a little warmer. Their paladin suits were supposed to protect their body heat, making sure it always stay mild. Not too hot, nor too cold. But the planet temperature is too low for the suits to keep them warm, he supposes, which makes Lance tremble his whole body again. But then he realizes that the others don’t seem as bothered as he does with the frosty conditions around them. _Maybe my suit is broken. I should talk to Coran after this._

Lance sighs, trying to focus. He has to start paying more attention. Lance almost feels miserable with the thought. Lately, he hasn’t been on his top game and he’s not sure why. Well, maybe he does know why, but it’s hard to admit. You see, lately he hasn’t been paying attention as much as he should, which means he’s not following all the orders nor being careful enough about Coran’s warnings, causing the team more troubles than they already have. Not to mention that he has been losing the time and waking up late, _frequently_ \- which was what happened this morning. He sighs again. 

“Okay, what exactly are we searching for, Coran?” Keith says. 

“It’s a common specimen. It’s a red leaf, medium size, usually found around a yellow flower. A marvelous view.” Coran says, walking by Keith’s side. 

“And the flower is...” Pidge tries.

“Oh, carnivore. Very deadly.” 

“Of course it is.” Lance mutters. “Why can’t we just go to a nice planet for once? You know, one that doesn’t try to kill us.” He speaks a little louder. 

“Fear not, my boy. It will all be worth it when any of you get injured and need a good balsam made of that leaf.” Coran chimes, his optimistic self never realizing that some things just aren’t great. _Or we could not get injured, how about that?_ Lance thinks, holding his comments to himself. 

Lance unlocks his bayard, grumbling. He starts walking with more purpose. The faster they find the leafs, the faster they get out of another murderous planet.

“...you have to be careful.” He catches the final of Coran’s sentence. That is definitely important, but it’s not like it’s news. They always have to be careful, everywhere, because it turns out the galaxy probably wants them dead. Stupid galaxy. 

Lance trips over some roots, almost making him fall. “Okay, okay. I take it back. Gee.” He mutters, looking up, giving the universe a dirty look. He sighs, recomposing himself. The others start going different directions, and Lance catches parts of what they are discussing. He can distinguish a few words from others, but most of them seem fogged on his mind. He shrugs, deciding it’s best to not lose any more time. _How can the tip of my ears hurt with the cold if I’m wearing this stupid helmet?_ Lance thinks, pouting. 

Lance might hate the cold, but walking on a ‘frozen’ forest is better than a humid one with the mosquitos or whatever deadly close thing to it the planets across the planet throw at them, he concludes. He stops on the top of a rock, trying to get a better vision around him. Lance then notices he walked too far from the others, not catching any sign of them near him. He clicks his tongue. _Where did they go?_ He asks himself, trying to understand how he lost them out of his sight, but now that he’s thinking about it, it’s been really quiet for the last few minutes. Lance looks around, fidgeting one foot to the other in an attempt to keep himself warm. There’s a pattern of colors on this planet: red, dark green, ice blue, lavender and pink. So, yellow must be easy to find right? Nope. 

Beautiful planet. Tiring, nonetheless. Lance is so lost inside his head and on this place, that he loses track of time. How long has he been walking? Do his feet hurt because of the cold or because of how long he has been wandering? But complaining won’t help, so he can only go forward, right? 

“… the tower.” Pidge says on the comms. 

_Tower? Tower, tower, tower… What tower? Wait, oh._ Flower _. Pidge must have found it_. He sighs in relief. “Finally! I can’t wait to get out of this place. I was getting a serious case of the heebie jeebies.”

Lance jumps from the rock, eager to get to Red and her warmth. He lands carelessly on the top of some roots - probably the same that almost knocked him down. A thunderous noise startles him, piercing his ears so persistently, it seems to be driving him to insanity. Lance could swear his bones were vibrating at the intensity of it. The noise is so intense, Lance feels his head aching, his knees weakening and his vision starting to get blurry. He realizes he’s tearing up.

He blinks, trying to clear his vision, tears falling down. He’s the sharpshooter of the team, for God’s sake. Lance depends on his vision more than anyone on Voltron. The boy decides it’s better to run while his legs don’t give out just yet. He moves as fast as he can, trying to ignore the dizziness. Lance has no idea where he’s going. His heart is calling for his _mamá_ , knowing she would always guide him. But that doesn’t mean he’s any less lost. Foreign planet, murderous plants, no sign of his team and a cry so loud it makes him want to run away. _Is the plant or me that is crying this much?_ He blinks again. Next thing he sees is a glimpse of red and white he recognizes as his team leader. Keith reaches for his neck, making their helmets bang against each other. Keith is holding him tight, looking at him straight in the eye as their foreheads touch - or would be if not by their helmets. “Focus!” He yells, and his voice seems to ground Lance enough to come back to reality.

Lance nods - or he thinks he does. 

Keith takes Lance by his hand, pulling him as he leads the way. Lance silently thanks his _mamá_ for sending someone to save him. Although it hurts his pride just a little it’s Keith. But serves him right, it’s just like his mother to send the only person that could possibly make him feel something weird in his chest - Lance suspects it’s embarrassment - to come to his rescue. _Okay, I get it. I won’t go walking around alone anymore, mom_. He almost groans, but relief is too big in his heart.

It’s easier to let Keith guide him, his mind too fogged for him to remember where is North and where is South. The others are already inside their lions, waiting for Keith’s orders for them to launch. Lance doesn’t quite see when the Black paladin let goes of his hand, but he doesn’t see when he enters his lion either. The moment Lance sits on Red’s pilot seat, he feels his heart beating again, the air coming back to his lungs. His head is still aching and he still feels dizzy, but the silence inside the cockpit and Red’s conscience liked to his makes him feel safe again. The flight back to the castle is time enough for Lance to calm his nerves. _In and out. In and out. Just breath_ , he tells himself.

“What happened?” Keith demands as soon as all of them get out of their lions. The team leader is dangerously close to him, and Lance is not sure if that’s supposed to intimidate him, or to establish dominance, but the persistent ringing noise accompanying Keith’s voice takes the effect expected. 

Lance takes his helmet off, and even the cold recycled air seems to be welcoming after that experience. “I don’t know. I was, uh, we’ll, I was trying to find the flower, with the leaf, and the plant started to scream, and I was cold-“

“What do you mean you were cold?”

“Not all of us have a mullet to protect our necks from the cold.” He jokes. 

“Why is it always the hair?” Keith complaints more to himself than to Lance. That makes Lance rolls his eyes.

They discuss for a few more minutes, before Keith decides to just leave the matter, considering Lance was not able to answer all the questions. But that was because the ringing noise kept distracting him.

He walks slowly to his room. Even with the finding of the stupid leaf, the mission seemed to be a total failure Although that might just be Lance projecting his feelings about himself on the mission, but who’s to say? As soon as he sits on his bed, he realizes he didn’t even take off his armor. Lance still feels himself cold as a popsicle, which reminds him he should talk to Coran. _Maybe later_ , he thinks as his body begs for a good night of rest and a very cuddly blanket.

 _I could use a hug right now_. He thinks distracted.

“-ance? Lance!” He snaps his head to the door, finding the Green Paladin there. Pidge’s voice bringing him back to reality. How long has he been sitting on his room before someone came to find him? It must be hours, he assumes, since they don’t usually talk much after missions.

“Oh, hey.” Lance says, trying to sound casual, only to notice the worried look on his teammate’s face. “Uh, what, what’s wrong?”

“Keith.” They answer simply, their face contorted in what it seems pain. That is enough to make Lance jump out of his bed and start running through the hallways. “He is saying he’s leaving us.”

“What!? Not on my watch!” He exclaims, not looking behind, only speeding up. Lance does not notice Pidge stopped following him. The path seems endless, each step echoing through the hallways, giving him the sensation of a chase. His hands are shaking, he notices when he presses them against the visor, allowing him to enter the room. Actually, scratch that. His whole body is trembling, he’s just not sure why.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lance asks, marching to the pod where Keith is standing next to.

“None of your business.” Keith answers, not giving Lance any attention.

“Listen up, Mullet. Whatever emo thought made you believe you could just leave,” Lance starts, taking Keith’s bag right out of his shoulders, “I’mma tell you: you can’t.”

“I don’t have time for this, Lance.” Keith snarls, trying to take his bag back, but the Red paladin has longer arms. Lance raises the bag high enough to take out of his reach.

“Are you out of your mind? Did your Mullet finally drive you into madness?” He cries. “Team leader, you can’t just-“

“Didn’t you say I was going to be the worst team leader ever? For the first time you might be right on something.” Keith hisses, making Lance flinch with the sudden interruption and the knives in his indigo eyes. It’s been a long time since Keith looked at him like that, if he ever did. The two of them haven’t argued in forever. “So, I’m doing you a favor and leaving.”

“How is this my fault?” He frowns, betrayal in his eyes. Lance’s voice failing.

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Keith snarls, stepping dangerously closer - this is becoming a habit Lance does not know he likes -, being able to grab his bag back. “Move out of my way before I make you.” 

“No.” He says without hesitation. Keith clicks his tongue, pushing past Lance.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Lance holds his shoulder. Keith shifts under his gaze. “Keith, you can’t leave.” He feels his chest tightening, making hard to breath or talk. “If you leave, we can’t form Voltron.”

“We already can’t form Voltron.” He says between teeth.

“Yeah, but we can at least try to.” Lance protests. “Without you here, it becomes impossible!”

“Lance-“

“You’re too important for the team to leave!”

“I thought you’d be happy I was leaving.”

“That’s not-“

“You know, now you don’t have to deal with my mullet.” Keith interrupts, with an expression Lance can’t name.

Lance wishes he could smile at the attempt of a joke, but he just can't do it, his lips disobeying him. It’s getting hard to breath, he realizes. “Where would you even go?”

Lance should know the answer already, since Keith is not wearing his paladin suit, but the Blade's uniform. Keith’s eyes start fidgeting around the room before he answers, he seems almost ashamed. “The Blade.”

“Just like that? You will just leave then?”

“Look, I’m not gonna leave forever. It will be just a few months.” Keith runs his hand through his hair, his shoulder dropping right after. He sighs before looking at Lance again. “I will come back.” It's a promise, but it seems like a lie.

Lance thinks about many things he can say, but he’s afraid to say any of them. “Roger that, team leader.” He opens a pained smile. “We will be waiting.” _I will be waiting_. He watches Keith climbing aboard the pod and, eventually, leaving. He hugs himself and just stares at where the black paladin, _former_ black paladin, was supposed to be. Lance thinks he never felt as cold as now.

Yeah, Lance definitely _despises_ the cold.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at my twitter and Tumblr account: heyvivalapluto.  
> Don't be shy, you can leave kudos and comment on my fics :) Also, if you feel like I wrote anything offensive, please tell me. I will be glad to learn and correct myself.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, xoxo.


End file.
